Gees, all this stuff… your shopping, some fresh bread, a raincoat, a water bottle, a forgotten gym bag, a football; how can you store all this on your bike? Without flattening the fresh flowers and squashing those tomatoes? A bike basket is certainly your best bet! We have a wide choice of bike baskets, adapters and other accessories in our online shop. Let us help you take your pick, find the perfect mounting systems and show you which are the best, most eco friendly and most durable materials for your bike basket.
Nothing gets your luggage from A to B as easily as a bike basket! A basket allows you direct access, you don't have to spend a lot of time with fasteners and with a tension strap you can also pile up and lash down. Sounds really handy, doesn't it? Whether you opt for a sturdy wire bike basket, a vintage basket for the front of the bike or a hippie model with a flower wreath is entirely up to your individual taste. We can even refute the argument "everything gets wet when it rains", because most bike baskets come with matching rain covers! They often come in neon colours, which is not exactly discreet, but highly visible in bad weather. We now tell you the advantages of the different basket positions, what you can do with a front basket, which baskets are suitable for an e-bike and how you can attach your basket to the bike.
Front bike basket - your front basket is always in view
A front basket on a Dutch bike is particularly typical, but other city bikes and E-bikes are also increasingly adorned with a transport basket in front of the handlebars. These baskets must not be loaded too heavily, but you have your luggage in view at all times. Therefore, a front bike basket is especially suitable for valuable small items such as mobile phone, wallet or keys. These valuables should never be left unattended in a basket behind your back, they could too easily get legs at a stoplight!
Just like rack baskets, front baskets can be attached with different mounting systems, click systems are particularly handy here. Once the holder is attached to the bike, you can detach your bike basket with the push of a button and take it with you, after which the basket simply snaps back into the holder with a "click". These holding systems are highly recommended, especially for a front basket, as they guarantee a secure and sling-free fit of the basket over the front wheel. Most of these adapters are either screwed to the steering tube or directly to the handlebar, left and right of the stem and can simply remain on the bike or e-bike.
Retro bikes in particular often feature a front rack, which really brings out the vintage look. But even if your bike already has a front rack, you shouldn't mount a huge basket there and load it completely, because on the one hand this might change the center of gravity and the riding characteristics of your bike, on the other hand you need a clear view of the road! For this reason, handlebar baskets are usually somewhat smaller and made of particularly light material. Especially practical are handlebar baskets made of fabric with straps and closure. They are not only water-repellent, but thanks to the straps, they can also be used as a handbag. So you don't even have to reload your valuables!
Pros and cons of a handlebar basket
pros
|
Contras
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| always in view |
less payload |
| a safe place for valuables |
may affect driving characteristics |
| Also available as a basket for smaller dogs |
|
| can be fixed with different holding systems |
|
| Comes in wicker basket, metal basket, plastic or bag |
|
| Can be mounted on bicycle and e-bike |
|
Bicycle basket on the back of the luggage rack
A bike basket on the rear rack turns your bike into a real pack mule. Rainwear, sand toys, shopping or work materials - the list of possibilities here is almost endless! Pupils and students in particular like to stow heavy satchels and bags in the bike basket, as this is easier on their backs. Often, bicycle baskets are combined with panniers at the back, which makes it possible to have quite a picnic!
To make it easier for you, you can use the bike baskets.
To make handling easier for you, there are also various click systems and holding adapters for bicycle baskets that are mounted behind the rider, into which the basket locks and which can be released again with the push of a button. However, a rear-mounted bike basket is accessible to everyone, so behind your back is not the right place for your valuables!
You can pack a basket on the rear rack up to the maximum permitted load in the owner's manual you will find firstly the permitted load of the bike and secondly the load capacity of the rear rack. For safety reasons you should not exceed both! And now the bad news: Without a carrier, a bike basket is unfortunately difficult to attach to the bike. If your bike doesn't have a rack, you can either retrofit one or resort to bike bags that work without a base, these are mainly saddle bags and frame bags.
Pros and cons of a rack basket
.
pros
|
Contras
|
| large payload |
needs a luggage rack |
| has little effect on ride characteristics |
is accessible to everyone |
| can be fixed with different holding systems |
|
| is available in different robust materials |
|
| can be mounted on bicycle and e-bike |
|
Do I need a special bike basket for my e-bike?
Here's some good news - no, you can use any bike basket on your e-bike. Whether you want to mount a basket in the front or in the back - both are possible without any problems. When mounting a front basket, you should only make sure that the basket mount does not get in the way of the e-bike technology - i.e. that the display, lighting and cables have enough space. Mounting a rack basket might only be a bit tricky if you ride a pedelec with a rack battery. But first of all, these bikes are getting rarer and rarer and secondly, there is usually a normal luggage carrier above the battery compartment, on which you can mount a basket with or without a retaining system.
The best material for your bike basket
Bicycle baskets come in many different varieties, colors and shapes. The materials differ in their properties, but with a little help, even buying them online is easy:
Metal bicycle baskets
Today, most of the bicycle baskets are made of metal. These baskets are robust and durable, swallow many pounds of payload, and they can withstand adverse weather conditions for years. Many metal baskets are covered with a protective rubber layer. Here you have the choice between close-meshed material and a bike basket with large gaps between the wires. Obviously, the less material you're chauffeuring around, the lighter you'll be on the road. In addition, you won't lose any small parts from a close-meshed basket, while autumn leaves or similar things won't get stuck in a coarse-meshed basket.
Wicker, fabric or wooden bike baskets
The demand for renewable material is also increasing for bicycle baskets, so there are many beautiful models made of wicker. Fabric bags or wooden crates are also available. While these bicycle baskets may be more sustainable in production, they should not be exposed to wind and weather for years without protection.
Plastic bicycle baskets
Indestructible plastic has one clear advantage - it is lightweight. It can also be molded into any shape and take on any shade of color, making it a popular raw material for bike accessories. However, many cyclists are very concerned about their eco-footprint, so naturally baskets made of plastic tend to be counterproductive. If a basket made of synthetic material has won your heart, you should not consider it a disposable item, but simply use it as long as possible. Over the years and under UV light, however, plastic tires, so the "bike basket for eternity" tends not to be made of plastic.
Click systems attach your bike basket flexibly and securely
Of course you can lash your bike basket with the good old cable ties. Elegant is different, but usually cable ties or wire reliably hold the basket to the bike. It gets exciting when you want to remove the basket. On the road this is almost impossible, here click systems are much more practical. You can buy different holding systems, they all work the same, but they are usually not compatible with each other.
The bicycle manufacturers have also realised how practical these click systems are and therefore supply E-bikes, city bikes, trekking bikes and also children's and youth bikes often come with a luggage rack that already fits one of the holding systems from the factory. There are different manufacturers that specialize in the production of bicycle baskets, bicycle bags and holding adapters. The most well-known click systems come from Basil, Racktime and KLICKfix.
Some well-known holding systems
- KLICKfix
- MIK (from Basil)
- Racktime
- Zinsmayer
- Trixie
...a final tip ...
As convenient as click systems are, they do have one drawback: anyone can quickly dismantle your basket.
That's why you should secure your basket with a small padlock or lock it with a cable lock to be on the safe side. You don't want to end up with a bag of bread, a briefcase or a bouquet of flowers and the basket is gone!
